Chicken-crating apparatus.



J. DE YOUNG.

GHICKEN CRATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED mum, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented May 24, 1910.

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' J; DE YOUNG. CHICKEN GRATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION rILBp JAN. 21,1910 959,121 Patented May 24,1910. I I W Hump-sum 2.

6 [NVENTOR ,WITNESSESL I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES DE YOUNG, OF MANHATTAN, KANSAS.

'CHICKEN-CRATING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES DE YOUNG, citizen of the United States,residing at Manhattan, in the county of Riley and State of Kansas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Chicken-Crating Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention has to do with the putting of chickens and the like inshipping crates or coops; and it has for one of its objects to provide asimple, easily controlled and hi cient apparatus through the medium ofwhich chickens may be expeditiously transferred from a chicken house orthe like to a crate or coop, and this without liability of the chickensbeing bruised or otherwise injured.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a chicken-transferapparatus embodying simple and efficient means for moving and holding acrate or coop against its discharge.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the followingdescription when taken in connection with the accompanying illustrationof one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings which are hereby made part hereof: Figure l is a viewshowing my apparatus in side elevation as properly arranged relative toa chicken house. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 22 of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the apparatusand showing the man ner in which the same is put in communication withthe chicken house. Fig. 4k is a sec tion on line 4% of Fig. 1, andshowing the crate or coop positioning means.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of thedrawings, referring to which:

A is a wall of a chicken house, in which is formed an opening B, and Cis the body of my novel crating or cooping apparatus which in thepresent and preferred embodiment of my invention is of a shape incrosssection corresponding to that of the opening B. The said body C ispreferably put in communication with the chicken house by arranging itsinner end in the opening B and opening its door D, as shown in Figs. 1and 3. I would also have it understood that when deemed expedient thereceiving end of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 21, 1910.

Patented May 24, 1910.

Serial No. 539,389.

the apparatus may be suitably connected with the house wall A, but thisI have regarded it unnecessary to illustrate.

The body C is provided at its inner end with an opening E designed to becontrolled by the said door D, and its outer end is closed byreticulated or other open-work material F, calculated to admit light toits interior. The top G of the body is closed, and at opposite sides ofits bottom said body is provided with downwardly and inwardly inclinedside walls H, preferably of sheet-metal, which extend throughout itslength. The bottom of the body C is formed by a longitudinal, dependingtrough I, which is open at top and bottom and closed at its end and isprovided in one side with recesses or offset portions K, Figs. 2 and 3.The opening at the bottom of the trough is preferably divided by atransverse bar L on which are ledges M, designed to serve in combinationwith end ledges P, F ig. 3, in supporting in their horizontal positionsthe doors R of which two are preferably employed. hen raised to permitdownward passage of chickens through the trough I, the doors R arereceived in the recesses or offset portions K, and hence do not in anymeasure interfere with the said downward passage. At the inner end ofthe door R is connected a crank S movable with the door, and at theouter end of the other door It is a similar crank T. The said cranks Sand T are connected to cables U, and the said cables are carried throughguide eyes V or other suitable guides to a point where they can beconveniently reached by an operator located within the chicken house,this in order to enable the operator to conveniently draw the cables andclose the doors R when the proper number of chickens have passed throughthe body G of the apparatus.

The outer end of the body G is supported by a suitable frame TV, and inthe uprights of said frame is journaled a shaft X having at one end acrank handle Y and also having at an intermediate point of its length acrank portion Z.

Journaled in uprights A suitably fixed in the ground is a shaft 13 whichhas a crank portion C and connected to the crank portions Z and C is aframe D on which a crate or coop E see dotted lines in Fig. 3, may beraised to a position against or ad- I jacent the under side of thetrough I. The

crate E? is of the two-compartment type generally used, and the twodoors It are provided in order to cooperate with the two compartments ofthe crate. From this it follows that when a crate or crates of thesingle compartment type are employed, but a single door R need beemployed, which door, of course, will extend throughout the length ofthe trough I.

For the purpose of holding the frame D in its raised position andenabling said frame to hold a crate or coop against the under side ofthe trough I, I provide the segmental rack F fixed to one of theuprights of the frame W in position to cooperate with the crank handleY.

In the practical use of my novel apparatus, a crate is held against theunder side of the trough I, as shown in Fig. 3, and the door D of thebody G is maintained in an open position, this while the doors R in thetrough I are also open. Chickens are then driven up the inclined plane Min the chicken house and into the body C of the apparatus, whereuponthey will either pass directly down through the trough I, or else willfly and light on the inclined side H, and then slide into and throughthe trough I and into the coop. When the desired number of chickens arein the crate compartment nearest the chicken house, the door R.

above said compartment is closed, and when the proper number of chickensare in the other compartment of the crate, the other door R is closed.The frame D is then loweredfor the removal of the crate, and an emptycrate is placed on the said frame I) and raised against the trough I,whereupon the doors R are opened for a repetition of the operationdescribed. When the crating. of chickens is completed, the door D may beand preferably is closed with a view of preventing the passage ofchickens from the chicken house into the body C.

While I have shown and described one form of my invention, it is to beunderstood that I am not limited to the details or the form or relativearrangement of parts disclosed, but that extensive modifications may bemade therein without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination with abody having an opening at one end for connecting its interior with thatof a chicken house, and also having a trough at its bottom that is openat its top and bottom and closed at its ends and is provided at one sidewith an offset portion, and further having side walls inclined inwardand downward to the said trough; of a door hinged in the trough andarranged when opened to occupy the said offset portion.

2. In an apparatus for the purpose de scribed, the combination with abody having an opening at one end for connecting its interior with thatof a chicken house and also having an opening in its bottom throughvhich chickens can pass into a crate or coop positioned below the body;of a door movable in the body for controlling the latter opening.

3. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination with abody having an opening at one end for connecting its interior with thatof a chicken house and also having an opening in its bottom throughwhich chickens can pass into a crate or coop positioned below the body;of a door con nected with the body, for controlling the first-namedopening, and a door movable in the body for controlling the latteropening.

4. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination with abody having an opening at one end for connecting its interior with thatof a chicken house, and also having a trough at its bottom that is openat its top and bottom and closed at its ends and is provided at one sidewith a recess or offset portion; of a door hinged in the trough andarranged when opened to occupy the said recess or offset portion.

5. An apparatus for the purpose described, comprising a body having anopening at one end for connecting its interior with that of a chickenhouse and also having an opening in its bottom through which chickensmay pass into a crate or coop positioned below the body; and meansconnected with the said body for moving and holding a crate or coopbelow the body.

6. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination with aframe, a body connected with the frame and having an opening at one endfor connecting its interior with that of a chicken house and also havingan opening in its bottom through which chickens can pass into a crate orcoop positioned below the body, an auxiliary frame located below thebody, cranked shafts journaled in the frame and auxiliary frame, a framemounted on and movable by the cranks of the shafts toward and from thebottom of the body, a handle on one shaft, and means for cooperatingwith said handle to adjustably fix the same in position to hold a crateagainst the bottom of the body.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JAMES DE YOUNG.

Vitnesses W. A. NICOLET, J. O. EWING.

